Onelink Safe & Sound by First Alert Review

Have you noticed? I love testing out new smart home devices. From lights to the garage to music, I have a smart home device, and an app to control almost everything. But, when I decided to add a new device, it has to be worth it. Will it actually add “smartness” to my home? Or just be a novelty? The device gets bonus points if it adds other functionality to my home. Smart home devices that increase my home’s safety are at the top of the list. And of course, the cool factor is important to me. The Onelink Safe & Sound does not disappoint.

My last 2 homes had interconnected smoke detectors. What does this mean? This means if smoke or fire triggers one of the smoke detectors in the house they will all sound the alarm together. This is better for your family’s safety. If a fire happens at night and everyone is in their rooms with the doors closed, they may not hear the alarm going off in the downstairs hallway. But, with an interconnected smoke alarm system, even if the problem is in another room, the smoke alarms in the bedrooms will go off too.

The Onelink Safe & Sound works seamlessly with this system, so we will not miss crucial alerts.

What is the Onelink Safe & Sound?

You are probably familiar with First Alert. They make a number of safety devices for the home including smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, and safes. The Onelink Safe & Sound by First Alert is a new product that is more than just a smoke alarm. It’s a 3-in-1 marvel. It’s an intelligent (aka smart) smoke & carbon monoxide alarm. But, that’s not all. It’s also a premium home speaker. And it has Alexa built in!

This is my first non-Amazon device with Alexa built in, and let me tell you… I am impressed!

Onelink Safe & Sound Installation

Installation was very easy. I chose to replace the smoke detector in the 1st-floor hall right inside the garage door. This location is great because since I can talk to Alexa on the Onelink, I can say commands as soon as I come through the door. I removed my old smoke detector and the mounting bracket. The screws were already in the right place to install the new mounting bracket, so I was able to just twist it into place and tighten the screws.

My old smoke detector was not a First Alert, so it used a different connector. I used one of the included adapters to connect the existing power adapter to the connector on the Onelink.

After that, I simply twisted the Onelink Safe & Sound tightly into place.

Installation took not even 10 minutes.

The Onelink Home App

Like most other smart home devices, you control your Onelink Safe & Sound using an app. The Onelink Home app allows you to stream music, test alerts, and change the coloring and brightness of the nightlight.

I downloaded the app on my Android smartphone from the Google Play store and created an account. It took a couple of tries, but I then successfully connected the app to my new Onelink. Using the app, I then connected my Amazon account in order to use Alexa.

One of the first things that I did was test to make sure that the Onelink was working correctly. I used the app to perform an alert test. My Onelink verbally announced that it was testing (which I love!) and the audible alert started not only on my Onelink, but also on the other smoke alarms in the house.

The Music & Sound

The Onelink allows you to stream music from Pandora, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Spotify, and Tunein. In order to use these services, you will have to link the accounts using your Amazon Alexa app. You will only be able to stream Spotify if you have a premium account. And you will need an All Access, Internet Radio, or streaming add-on package to use SiriusXM.

The sound on the Onelink is pretty amazing. It takes advantage of the fact that it is mounted on the ceiling and uses that as an acoustic backdrop for awesome sound. My husband, who is a DJ and a music snob, agrees that the sound is really good.

The only drawback is that at this time the Onelink cannot be added to groups in the Alexa app. This means that when I want to play music all over the house to my various Echo devices, the Onelink will not be included. This was a bummer. I was looking forward to having it included in my whole house audio.

The Night Light

I love that the Onelink has a night light. This means when coming in late our hall is illuminated a bit, so we don’t trip! And we don’t necessarily have to turn the hall lights on unless we want to. And bonus that I can change the colors. My kids love this!

Overall, I am loving my Onelink Safe & Sound. It is definitely a great addition to our smart home, and much better than having a “regular” smoke alarm. If you are looking for a multi-use device to replace an existing smoke alarm, I definitely recommend it.

Check out the video below to learn more.

Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Kris McDonald is Chicago mom to 2 sets of twins, wife, photography nut, gadget addict, travel addict, and tech blogger who has worked in IT for over 20 years. She figured out a while ago that she was destined to be really busy (hence the 2 sets of twins), and she has found peace with that. Read More…

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